Am I Dreaming?
by CamoLang
Summary: [on-going] Rukawa meets the girl of his dreams, in his dreams. How has she changed him? Am I dreaming? Please read & review, I'm trying to improve myself.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: All Slam Dunk characters are not mine, except for Miyagi. All right all right, he's not mine either.  
  
Author's note: I'd just like to thank na-no-da who contributed to the story whenever I ran out of ideas! I edited parts of it a little, don't mind me okay girl? Doumo...  
  
***  
  
"Kaede, I've been waiting for you..."  
  
"I'm sorry. I couldn't get away."  
  
"Let's go!" She pulled his hand and dragged him along. The cool breeze enveloped Rukawa. They reached a grassy spot warmed by the glowing sun. The girl was animatedly talking, her chatter occasionally punctuated by laughter. Rukawa felt light and free.  
  
He blinked. The grasses, the sun, the girl, are all gone. All he could see was... his panting teacher?  
  
"Rukawa! Are my lessons that boring? Tell me! Are my lessons that boring?"  
  
"But Sir... he sleeps in other classes too!"  
  
Aah, damn girls. Clingy, screaming girls. Nothing like the girl...  
  
Rukawa got up. "I swear nobody comes in the way of me and my sleep."  
  
He left the classroom to go to the rooftop. He liked the rooftop. It was his own place. Unless some punks are using it for a fight location, that is.  
  
Rukawa sat down and thought about the girl. He didn't know her name. He had never even seen her face. Every time they met in his dream, yes, it was a re-occurring dream, she seemed to be a hazy light, bright yet blurry. But he knew she was beautiful. He didn't know how he knew. He just did...  
  
"Kaede, stop staring into space!" The girl gave an easy laughter.  
  
Rukawa couldn't stop smiling. It was cool once again. Breezy, yet still warm. She had her back leaning again his arm. They started talking.  
  
Wham! He felt a sharp kick in his gut. He awoke drowsily. It was another dream. One weird thing was that he never knew he was dreaming when he was dreaming. He only realized when he had woken up.  
  
"Hey, get out of her you lazy ass!" A pitchy voice, yet to break with puberty, but trying to sound rough and tough.  
  
Rukawa sighed. "Get out of MY place assholes!" his head screamed. But he kept his cool.  
  
[contributed by na-no-da] "Go find somewhere else to sleep." The punk kicked him again.  
  
Rukawa stood up slowly. His fist clenched, but he resisted the urge to punch the cocky punk's face. Somethins stopped him. "Five enemies of peace inhabit with us. The most evil is anger. Let go of it, Kaede." Had she said that?  
  
His lips twitched as he walked unsteadily away. Who is she? He didn't know. But he knew that she was different. So different from other girls. And that was what made him remember the first time they met.  
  
***  
  
Rukawa dropped to the ground, exhausted. He took a sip of drink and looked around. Funny, it's so quiet here. Only him. Him and basketball. He liked it like this... right?  
  
"Doko wa?"  
  
Rukawa looked up and saw the feminine silhouette under the hoop.  
  
"What am I doing here? Did you call for me?" she asked, her eyes widening eagerly.  
  
Did he? Did he call for her? Maybe he did. He couldn't remember.  
  
"What's your name?" She asked as she approached him.  
  
"Rukawa Kaede." [/contributed]  
  
*** 


	2. If only he had asked

[contributed by na-no-da] "Kaede, you should smile more." She smiled at him. "You look better when you smile."  
  
She laughed, a musical twinkle in his ears.  
  
Rukawa smiled. "I'll only smile for you. In this place. This place where nothing matters. Where we are the only ones here."  
  
She waggled her index finger. "My, you sure speak a lot. Why couldn't people see this part of you?"  
  
He saw her fading. Oh no. His conscious was slipping in. He held out his hand, reaching for her outstretched one. Just one touch. One last final touch...  
  
"Wait. When will I see you again?" he asked urgently. His fingers brushed the cold, cold air, passing right through her fingers.  
  
"You know when. See you, Kae..." She smiled at him and waved.  
  
Rukawa stared helplessly at her disappearing figure. He wanted to call out to her. A name. If only he had asked... [/contributed]  
  
Rukawa sat up in his bed. He blinked in surprise. That was the first time, since he had started dreaming his dream a few months ago, that he realised he was dreaming when he was dreaming. He took a deep breath. All he wanted was to stay in his dream forever. It gave him a feeling he never knew before.  
  
He could never fully remember his dream. It was embedded in his sub- conscious, bits and pieces of it springing to life when he least expected it. But he always felt the same feeling, even after he had woken up. She is so easy to talk to. He didn't even know what they talked about. But he knew they could talk about anything and everything and never ran out of things to say.  
  
***  
  
Rukawa shivered. Shivered? Oh, he was dreaming again. And for the second time, he was conscious that he was in his dream. He saw the girl again. He squinted to see her fece, but she was still a hazy light.  
  
"Kae-kun, let's go play!"  
  
She grabbed his hand and pulled it. He could feel himself flying. He closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling. He opened them again and... oh, he WAS flying.  
  
Flying off his bike as he crashed into a car. He landed hard on his butt. Rukawa felt a growing frustration from having his dream interrupted. He eased the feeling by struggling to remember his dream. He remembered, for the first time, what they had talked about in his previous dream. Or was it another dream, at another place? It didn't matter. He remembered now.  
  
They had talked about basketball.  
  
*** 


	3. I owe you one

It was that place again. His place. Not the rooftop of his school, but the place in his dreams. She was there. She was talking to him and laughing. He had to say something. He grabbed the girl's shoulders.  
  
"I don't know your name."  
  
She laughed easily. "What's in a name?"  
  
"Tell me."  
  
She smiled and told him.  
  
"I can't see your face."  
  
Again, the laughter. She lifted her dainty hand and placed it lightly on his chest.  
  
"You could never see, because you never looked."  
  
He felt a tap on his shoulders. A third person in his dreams? Rukawa looked up. It was... Akagi?  
  
"Wake up bozo. Practice had already started."  
  
Oh, school had ended. And he had fallen asleep once again. Did he dream? Yes, he did. He could remember asking for her name. Darn, what was it? He didn't quite catch it. But he did remember something she had said. "You could never see, because you never looked."  
  
He wondered what she meant.  
  
***  
  
Practice went on as usual. The seniors were having a friendly with the freshmen, and that do'ahou was screwing up as usual. A nervous first year [author's note: I think his name is Kuwata] passed the ball to Rukawa.  
  
It was as he was driving towards the basket that he remembered another bit of his dream. He remembered her words as she gestured towards the sky.  
  
"Coming down from a rainbow bringing a light that shines blinding the eye, your love for basketball is that pure... sincerity that brightens the world."  
  
Rukawa jumped towards the basket. He felt himself literally flying, almost soaring, as he slammed the ball into the hoop. He landed on his feet, perfectly.  
  
The whole court went deathly quiet. Even Sakuragi appeared stunned. It was a magnificent move. And it was all because of her.  
  
She was screaming his name. Wait, screaming? She was a gentle girl. She would never scream. Oh, it was the girls. The shrieking girls from his school who were chanting his name. Well, practice had ended. He decided not to stay behind to practice on his own. He wanted to leave but of course, he had to pass through the crowd of girls first.  
  
"Rukawa! You're my hero!"  
  
"Oh, I'll go anywhere you go!"  
  
"Rukawa, you're the best!"  
  
Rukawa tried to push his way through. But they were too many. He tried to elbow his way through. He jabbed a girl hard in the face, expecting her to cry out in pain. She cried out in delight instead.  
  
"Aaah! He touched me. Rukawa touched me!"  
  
Rukawa heard a male voice laughing. He looked up to see Miyagi [author's note: he's mine okay? heh.], who was obviously enjoying himself.  
  
"Gimme a hand," Rukawa said to him.  
  
Immediately, a million hands shot out. "Take mine, take my hand!"  
  
Miyagi burst out laughing. Rukawa glared at him. "C'mon!"  
  
Still laughing, Miyagi made his way through the crowd. One girl by one girl, he yanked them off. "Move it!"  
  
"Argh, it's the punk."  
  
"He looks scary!"  
  
"Is he gonna kill us?"  
  
"Help!"  
  
Finally Rukawa was free. Without a word, he headed for his bicycle. Those girls are getting worse by the day,  
  
"Hey man, you could have thanked me." Miyagi was still laughing.  
  
"I owe you one," he replied.  
  
*** 


	4. Just a game

"Kae-kun, what's wrong?"  
  
"This is just a dream..."  
  
The spirited girl laughed. "Tell me about your dream."  
  
Rukawa spoke without thinking. "America."  
  
The girl smiled at him and nodded. He knew she understood. "But I have a feeling I will fail." There, he had said it. A hidden fear that he kept only to himself. It was a secret fear that he was afraid to admit to, even to himself.  
  
"Do you want to know why?"  
  
"Because I'm not good enough."  
  
"No..." The girl spoke slowly. "You're afraid you will fail, because it is the wrong dream."  
  
***  
  
"Tell me what's the right dream."  
  
"I can't tell you that, Kae-kun. You have to tell yourself."  
  
"All right all right. My dream is to beat Sendoh."  
  
The girl shook her head. "Just a game..."  
  
"What?" Rukawa was startled.  
  
"Basketball is just a game."  
  
Rukawa opened his eyes. He was in his dark bedroom, alone once again. It was quiet, too quiet. He broke the silence.  
  
"I wish it was," he said out loud.  
  
***  
  
"I thought you knew me. You don't know me at all! Basketball is not JUST a game. It is my life!"  
  
The girl touched him lightly on his arm. "There are other games to play."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Well, you could try playing The Game of Life."  
  
"Teach me."  
  
"I can't. You have to learn by yourself. I know you can do it. I can't be here with you forever, Kaede." She reached forward to hug him. It was the first hug he have had in a long, long time.  
  
"But... why?"  
  
She laughed. "I can't be here FOR you forever, but I will be WITH you forever. You will always have me. Isshoni itsumademo. Sekai ga owaru made wa [author's note: this is the title of a song by Wands]. I promise."  
  
She let go of him and took a small step back. He saw her eyes for the first time. They were blue.  
  
Just like his.  
  
*** 


	5. The game of life

Rukawa trudged lazily to school the next day. He had left his punctured bike at home. His heart felt heavy and void. Somehow, he had a feeling that their meeting last night would be their last. He didn't realize Miyagi trailing him until the boy was standing right next to him, walking in pace.  
  
"Hey man, still upset over yesterday?" Miyagi joked.  
  
Rukawa ignored his teammate. The girl's voice rang over and over on his mind. "The game of life... game of life... game of life..."  
  
She had told him the first step was to find a friend. He didn't know what was the use of that, but he had promised her. Right, Kaede, hold on to a promise made in your dreams. Literally. He looked over at his senpai. Miyagi? Oh dear God no...  
  
"Listen, man. Not all girls are like that," Miyagi started.  
  
"I know," Rukawa spoke without thinking.  
  
Miyagi laughed. "How would YOU know that, rookie? You got a girlfriend? C'mon, tell me. What is she like? She pretty?"  
  
Rukawa immediately regretted this conversation ever started. Now he knew why he kept his distance from people. All they wanted to do is annoy you. The girl is not like that. MY girl...  
  
"Listen. The only girl I want is in my dreams."  
  
Rukawa was surprised at Miyagi's expression. It was funny, but he sensed that Miyagi understood.  
  
"I know what you mean, man," Miyagi mumbled. They had reached school by then, and they parted.  
  
*** 


End file.
